Butterfly
by mushybullfrog
Summary: Fluttershy has been lonely for a majority of her life until Rainbow Dash came along. After she moved away Fluttershy was left alone. With a newfound interest in animals and a new school halfway across the world, her once dreary life turns out to be something else. Also the Mane 6 are humans here, but this fic will be Fluttershy-focused.


Fluttershy was lonely ever since she was a young child. Nobody seemed to really be there for her and she always found herself sitting by herself in her home. She sometimes looked through the window and longed to play with the other children outside in the bright afternoon sunshine, but she was too afraid to leave her home and talk to them. She had already tried once before to play with them when she was four, but they simply shook their heads and moved away from her. Fluttershy thought that she heard one of them call her a freak. She wondered if they called her that because of her height. It was true that she was taller than most children her age and some didn't like that. She was hurt by their scathing words and felt small on the inside. She decided to not ask again and went back into her home and gazed sadly out the window once more.

Her loneliness grew as she found that her parents never seemed to stay with her long enough. When they were at home, they greeted her briefly and left to go into separate rooms in the house and continued to be busy with their jobs. She could hear the sound of papers being printed out and the sound of keyboards clicking. At first Fluttershy thought they would stay longer whenever they came back from their jobs. They tucked her in and kissed her goodnight and Fluttershy felt a warm feeling spread by her parents comforting presence as she fell asleep. However, the next day, she would awake to an empty house once again. The chairs would be tucked in and the tabletops were cleared from the things they brought in the day before. The residence became neat in an eerie way. It was as if they never came.

When Fluttershy started attending primary school, she avoided other kids and kept to herself. Others thought that there was something wrong with her and thought that she was very strange. Not many people had pink hair like her, so it was an unusual sight. Also her height made her stand out amongst the other students. Fluttershy did about average in school, but when it came to physical education, she was the worst at it. She would always trip and fall when she ran and lacked the strength to do certain activities such as pushups. More children started to make fun of her and taunted her. Fluttershy teared up at hearing the everlasting rude remarks. "You are so pathetic Fluttershy!" the students would say. Whenever the teachers asked a question and Fluttershy had to answer, she spoke in a voice so small that everyone strained to hear and that only made the students' jeers worse.

Things remained like this for her first year with Fluttershy hearing the same remarks in every class. The teachers tried to stop the name calling, but the students still made fun of her in between classes and sometimes silently whispered when the teacher wasn't paying attention.

Fluttershy felt like this will go on for the rest of her elementary school years. Then things changed the next year when Rainbow Dash entered her school life. She was a girl, about a year younger than Fluttershy, who was very good at sports. She ended up in the same gym class as Fluttershy because of her outstanding athleticism which advanced her by a year.

It was one of their gym classes when they were playing soccer, and as usual, Fluttershy kept missing the ball when the chance came by for her to kick it. She tried to get her foot to connect with the ball, but she just couldn't aim in the right direction. When she finally did succeed, she only bunted it, causing it to move forward by two feet and right into the opposing team's reach.

A member of her own team roughly shoved her and half-heartedly apologized, and Fluttershy knew that it wasn't an accident. She hung her head low as she shrunk back into herself. Why was she so useless?

"Woah, she's so cool!" the students would say as Rainbow Dash ran in the school field. Her speed was immeasurable and she was a blur that sped across the field. Rainbow Dash stood out even more than Fluttershy with her rainbow-colored hair, but instead of mocking her, they actually admired her.

"That's right! I am very awesome," Rainbow Dash would say boastfully in response to the students' praise.

Fluttershy felt more ashamed of herself for her lack of physical abilities compared to Rainbow Dash and realized that Rainbow Dash's pride would make her feel worse.

"Fluttershy is such a klutz compared to Rainbow Dash!" one student began to say one day in gym class, but it caught the attention of Rainbow Dash who was nearby.

"Hey! What did you say?" Rainbow Dash said with fury flashing in her eyes. The student backed up in surprise to her response.

"What do you mean? Everyone knows that she's a klutz!" the student pushed further.

"Can't you see that she tries her best in this class every day and not everyone can be good at athletics?!" Rainbow Dash said back. "At least she gives it her best shot unlike you!"

A heavy oppressive silence fell upon the field. Everyone had heard Rainbow Dash's loud remark. Fluttershy was the most surprised to hear this. Out of all the people to defend her, it was Rainbow Dash, the sports star revered by her peers and she had just said something that went too far.

"Now just leave her alone!" Rainbow Dash said threateningly.

The student looked frightened and ran off. The other students backed away and retreated back to their activities.

"Are you okay Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked the tall pink-haired girl after the commotion died down.

"Yes, um thank you," Fluttershy made a small smile, "I didn't think that you would do this for me out of all people."

"You seem like a really cool person unlike what the others have been saying about you. I don't think cool people like you deserve to be treated like that," Rainbow Dash said with a big grin.

"Really?" Fluttershy asked surprised. Nobody had complimented her like that before.

"Yeah, "Rainbow Dash nodded simply, "I was born in a family where I was expected to be good at athletics and the pressure can sometimes get to you, so I understand. People shouldn't mock you for what you can't do."

Fluttershy silently pondered about Rainbow Dash's words. Rainbow Dash seemed to look right through her. She was glad that she actually saw something else than a hopeless failure.

"Hey Fluttershy, do you want to hang out after school?" Rainbow Dash asked after moments of silence.

Fluttershy was even more astonished that Rainbow Dash would ask to hang out with her. After giving it some thought Fluttershy replied, "Umm… sure." Her mom and dad worked late and none of her parents seemed to really care about what happened to her after all. They wouldn't notice.

"Alright! We can do something fun at the park!" Rainbow Dash replied.

The students seemed to stop taunting her that day and Fluttershy's day went on smoothly for once. She excitedly went through her classes and waited for the last bell to ring. When it finally did, she was one of the first to exit the building and raced over to the park. She had never ran this fast in her life before and she didn't trip this time like how she always did. Fluttershy felt so elated and couldn't stop herself from grinning.

She finally reached the park and headed towards the children's playground. No other child was there, but her. She climbed to the top of the slide and watched if anybody else would show up. Fluttershy patiently waited, but started to worry. What if she didn't want to come at all?

Then Fluttershy thought she heard a reassuring voice say, "Rainbow Dash is on her way right now." Where did it come from? There was nobody around her, but only the chirping of birds. Fluttershy thought it was strange, but decided to shrug it off.

Five minutes later, she saw a figure on a bike and saw it stop nearby. The person removed the helmet and it was the unmistakably rainbow hair of Rainbow Dash. The mysterious voice was right about Rainbow Dash's arrival.

"Woah, you got here earlier than I did," Rainbow Dash approached her, "I had to talk to the teacher for a bit, so I got here later than I should."

"Oh, umm...that's fine," Fluttershy said.

"How about we play something fun like uh tag!" Rainbow Dash said as her magenta eyes lit up.

"Oh um sure," Fluttershy said quietly.

"How about you be "it" first?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Because if I was, I think it would be unfair to you to get caught quickly."

"Ok," Fluttershy mumbled.

"Fluttershy, you need to speak up more or else people can't hear you," Rainbow Dash said.

"OKAY," Fluttershy said slightly louder.

"Alright that's good. Catch me if you can!" Rainbow Dash said as she ran off.

Fluttershy spent some time chasing after her, but Rainbow Dash was faster. She would always dart away when Fluttershy was about to catch her. It was unfair still, but Fluttershy came up with a plan… she would have to catch Rainbow Dash by surprise! She hid behind the slide and waited for her to pass by. Rainbow Dash continued to casually walk around from place to place on the playground.

"Where did she go?" Rainbow Dash wondered out loud. When she neared the slide, Fluttershy took her chance and jumped out and managed to tackle her. Rainbow Dash had tried to get away, but Fluttershy was taller, so she had better reach.

"Tag you're it!" Fluttershy said.

"Woah, where did you come from?" Rainbow Dash said with surprise from the ground.

Fluttershy got off her and said, "I had to catch you by surprise didn't I?"

"Nobody has been able to tag me like that before! See you are pretty cool Fluttershy! It's just that people don't know that about you!" Rainbow Dash grinned.

"But," Rainbow Dash began as she got up, "You are "it" again!" Rainbow Dash said as she tagged Fluttershy again and darted off.

The two continued playing tag until the sun started to get low on the horizon. Fluttershy didn't manage to tag Rainbow Dash again, but still had fun.

"I think it's getting late now. I have to be back soon or my parents will get mad," Rainbow Dash said, "What about you, Fluttershy? Do you have to go home too?"

"Umm… yeah. I don't think my parents would be home though," Fluttershy replied as she looked sadly at the ground.

"Bummer, I hope they come back soon," Rainbow Dash said as she started to head off, "I hope you can be okay by yourself!"

"Yeah, I will be just fine!" Fluttershy said with a fake smile. She didn't need others to be concerned for her.

Fluttershy watched as Rainbow Dash got on her bike and pedaled away. The sky started to turn into a shade of orange and she knew that she had been sitting here by herself for too long.

She thought she heard the same mysterious voice say, "It has been a good day for you. It's time to rest now little one."

Fluttershy checked again for where it came from, but once again all she heard were birds chirping. She began the walk back down the familiar streets to the path back home and entered the cold empty house which she knew as hers. Fluttershy sat down in the cold chair and took out a foreign textbook. She had to study more Japanese like her parents wished for her to and she gloomily did the rest of her homework. It was strange for her parents to ask her to study a new language, but she complied.

* * *

As the school year progressed, Fluttershy hung out more with Rainbow Dash and actually became close friends with her. The other students also stopped bullying her because Rainbow Dash was always there to drive them away. For the next few years, they would always hang out and Fluttershy made some other friends, but none as special as her best friend, Rainbow Dash. She was always supportive of Fluttershy.

It was because of this that it became all the more worse when she heard disheartening news about her. It was a sunny day when they were in the park and sitting on the swing sets.

"Fluttershy, there is something that has been bothering me for a while." Rainbow Dash said as her magenta eyes looked distraught.

"Oh, um… what is it Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked her with concern.

"It's my parents," Rainbow Dash began, "My dad got a new job and we uh have to move somewhere else."

Fluttershy continued to look at Rainbow Dash with confused sea green eyes.

"That means I can't go to this school anymore." Rainbow Dash said as her dull eyes looked sadly at the ground.

The day was suddenly not so bright anymore. Fluttershy felt her stomach lurch and this sick feeling seemed to take over her. Her eyes widened from the shock and felt like the world wasn't such a good place anymore. The one friend that would always stand up for her. The one who pointed out her strengths when she couldn't. The one who always supported her would be gone.

"Are you okay Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked with a look of concern.

"Yeah, I am um… perfectly fine," Fluttershy lied.

"Oh, you are taking this way better than I did," Rainbow Dash began, "I feel really sad though and I thought you would miss me."

"Oh, um, I do, but we should be cheerful for how your dad got a better job," Fluttershy fake smiled.

"Fluttershy are you really okay?" Rainbow Dash asked more sternly this time.

"No," Fluttershy said and then burst into tears. She had never cried this hard in her life, but she didn't want her best friend to leave.

Rainbow Dash brought out a box of tissues and handed them to her. "It's okay Fluttershy, things like this happen in life, but I'm not okay with this either," Rainbow Dash said as her last words caught in her throat as she began to sob too. The two girls cried like that for a while thinking about the times they can't hang out anymore until they managed to finally stop.

"I think I feel better now," Rainbow Dash said as she sniffed, "I would never cry in front of anyone. Not even my parents, but I think I am okay with you."

"Oh, that's nice," Fluttershy said as she wiped her face with her sleeves.

"We can still write to each other and stuff," Rainbow Dash said hopefully.

"Yeah," Fluttershy nodded.

They spent the rest of the school year making sure to enjoy every single moment with each other and accepted what was going to happen. Rainbow Dash moved away that summer and they had their goodbyes. She and Fluttershy would sometimes exchange letters, but even that would eventually stop. Rainbow Dash ceased replying and described how her life was getting busier as she got involved with more sports and that was all her parents wanted her to focus on.

Fluttershy's final year in elementary school was dull as events passed on. At least people no longer picked on her. Fluttershy discovered something to keep herself company. She found a stray rabbit one day and noticed it was starving, so she fed it some food from her lunch which were some carrots and lettuce. As she walked home, she noticed that the rabbit continued following her, but concluded that its home was simply nearby somewhere. As she entered her gloomy home, she noticed that the rabbit had come through the door with her.

"Do you want to stay with me?" Fluttershy asked the rabbit as she set her bag down and crouched to get closer to the animal.

To her surprise, the rabbit nodded in agreement. _Did it understand her?_ She decided to ask, "Do you know what I'm saying?"

The rabbit nodded and communicated with various expressions. Fluttershy somehow understood what he meant. She couldn't exactly explain how she translated a twitch of its tail or a slight turn of its head as words. The rabbit continued to move its ears, "You have a rare gift. You can communicate with animals."

"R-really?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Yes," the rabbit gestured. "Do you remember someone calling out in the park to tell you that Rainbow Dash was coming soon?" Fluttershy thought back to her strange one-sided encounter.

"Um, yes. I thought that was just my imagination?" Fluttershy questioned as she looked down at her hands.

"No, that voice came from the old bird that has made his residence there," the rabbit explained.

"Really? That's who it came from then!" Fluttershy whispered as her eyes widened. "Um, thank you for telling me this!"

"You are welcome. What will you do with this ability?" the rabbit asked.

"I want to befriend animals. I should start by giving you a name then. How about I call you…" she noted the puffiness and the white coat of the rabbit, "Angel? I think that name suits you."

The rabbit nodded and shifted its foot as agreement.

From then on, Fluttershy spent more time with animals. Animals understood her. They would never hurt her. They would never say mean things to her. She would always have companions. She would never be alone anymore.

An unusual thing happened after her last year in primary school ended. Her parents came home and announced that they were all going to move somewhere else. Fluttershy brightened up at the thought of possibly moving to where Rainbow Dash was. To her horror, her parents announced that they would be moving to Namimori, Japan. Why a foreign country? That was why they were teaching her Japanese for all these years! Her parents weren't even Japanese! Japan was so far from where she was living. To be even further from her friend. To never be able to possibly see her again. Why? It seemed so sudden…

For the first time in Fluttershy's life, she got really angry. "What are you saying?! This is nonsense! You just want me to be even more isolated from people! Is that it?" she focused her eyes on the shocked faces of her parents.

"Fluttershy, no we would never-" her mom desperately began.

"No! You were never here for me! I can't take this anymore!" Fluttershy felt something burning inside her for a moment as she said those words. She had let out all the emotions she had bottled up for years. Fluttershy immediately regretted what she said and ran off. Her parents watched helplessly as they saw how upset Fluttershy was.

Fluttershy stayed in her room, but overheard her parent's conversation outside. "We knew that we might have to go there soon," her dad said to her mom. "I didn't think things would get this bad, but if it's safer for us there, then we must go. At least they don't know about Fluttershy."

What were they talking about? Fluttershy was confused and decided to stop listening. They were saying nonsensical things like "Vongola." What was that anyway? Fluttershy didn't bother to care as she drifted off and fell asleep.

* * *

The day came when they would finally take the trip to Japan. Fluttershy avoided talking to her parents ever since the incident happened and they didn't talk much to her back either. They only talked to her to get ready for the trip. Fluttershy decided she had to tell Rainbow Dash about the move to a different country and told her the address of their supposed new residence in a letter she sent the day before. She wasn't sure if Rainbow Dash would respond, but at least giving her some knowledge would be useful.

Fluttershy and her parents boarded the plane and endured the long flight. Fluttershy fell asleep into the comfy cushions of her seat after several hours passed. By the time she woke up, they were already there. She stepped out of the plane into unfamiliar surroundings. Many people were milling around at the airport. It made Fluttershy want to shrink back into herself. She stuck close to her parent's side to make sure she didn't get lost. They were not in Namimori yet and had to take a taxi leading to their residence. After two hours of driving, they finally reached their new home.

It was an average house which reminded Fluttershy of their old place. It had two stories and there wasn't anything that popped out, really. The colors were mild and boring and the house didn't look particularly new. The same emptiness seemed to be there. Fluttershy sighed as she entered the house and looked around. The rooms were painted in a faded robin's egg blue color, but there was nothing outstanding in the house. She trudged up to what was to be her room and started to unpack some of her belongings. The rest of the items would arrive later. Making sure no one was around, she carefully pulled out Angel from a hidden space in her bag and placed him on the hardwood floor. She zipped her bag back up and sat down to look more carefully at the bunny.

"Oh, what do I do now, Angel?" Fluttershy asked sadly as she stroked the small creature, "I'm in a place I don't really belong in and I'm not sure what to do here!"

"Fluttershy, things may seem chaotic right now, but there might be new and friendly people here who can become your friends!" Angel gestured trying to cheer her up.

"Maybe you are right, Angel. I might be able to make new friends like Rainbow Dash here," Fluttershy replied.

Angel nodded in agreement and they spent the rest of the day in the silent atmosphere of the room.


End file.
